


The Heart Wants What It Wants

by TheNotoriousSassenach



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Swan Storybook (Once Upon a Time), Curses, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Inspired by Once Upon a Time (TV), Magic, Mild Language, Other, Slow Build, Strangers to Lovers, The Dark One (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:01:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28787628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNotoriousSassenach/pseuds/TheNotoriousSassenach
Summary: Storybrooke has been cursed by Regina in her last ditch effort to find happiness- only breakable by a deep kiss of true love of course. She purposefully kept Snow White and Prince Charming's insufferable daughter out of town, but when she suddenly shows up under mysterious circumstances, Regina makes her best effort to keep her and her one true love, Killian Jones, separated; no matter what it takes. Can she keep them in a toxic, break-up, make-up cycle with no real romance, or will they eventually see past their flaws and discover that their relationship really does provide more than just the pleasant feeling of not being alone, and amazing sex of course?
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan, Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Henry Mills, Henry Mills & Emma Swan, Red Riding Hood | Ruby & Widow Lucas | Granny
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

Killian Jones had lived in Storybrooke, a quaint little town in Maine, for well over 3 years now. He couldn’t actually recall when he’d moved, or what had pushed him to the small town, but he definitely remembered parts of his past that he wished he didn’t. He had a very fixed routine working as the Deputy at the local police station on a normal 9-5 pace. He lived with his beautiful girlfriend, Ruby, though they didn’t really get along as much as he would have liked. 

It seemed that he and his girlfriend were suddenly falling apart, not agreeing on much, not communicating well enough, or just doing things to purposefully piss each other off. Ruby, for being a generally confident woman, felt so insecure when it came to Killian and women he looked at. He did tend to have wandering eyes and could easily scope out an attractive woman among a crowd, but he always assured Ruby that she was the only one for him. He felt himself doubting that quite often himself though. 

So, it was no surprise that the pair argued over this subject quite often, and this afternoon was no different. They were in the upstairs level of her grandmother’s bed and breakfast, helping her with some tasks such as making sure proper rooms were cleared or clean enough on the off chance, they actually got a visitor; nobody ever really visited Storybrooke. So, as they checked the hallway of empty rooms, Ruby brought it up once again with a, “So Regina’s been requesting your help quite a bit lately.” 

To which Killian defended, “I work for her, love. She’s the mayor.” 

They made their way through the hallway, bickering over this as Killian got immensely defensive until Ruby decided she just didn’t want to deal with him anyway, and headed down the stairs to grab her coat and leave. 

“Ruby. You know I would never cheat on you. I’ve told you this a thousand times,” Killian persisted as he followed her down the stairs. 

There weren’t any visitors, and Granny was used to their bickering, so they didn’t find any reasons to hide it as their voices got progressively louder down the stairs. It was only when Killian had already made it to the open area of the main floor of the building that he noticed Granny talking to the other woman standing there, clearly offering her a room for the night. There was no doubt that this new woman who had clearly been from out of town, as he would have recognized her face, was very beautiful. She had perfectly shaded blonde hair and piercing green eyes that seemed as if they could see right through him. 

He only caught on to the last bit of the conversation as the old woman asked, “And for a name?”

“Emma. Emma Swan,” the woman replied. 

Killian’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “Emma?” He repeated with uncertainty, gaining not only a confused look from this ‘Emma’ and an upset huff from Ruby as she pulled her scarf around her neck. Truly, Killian had not meant to act so intrigued by the woman, but the moment he heard her name he felt a jolt through him; as if the simple sound of her voice stating her name gave him a reminder of the past, like he’d met her before. But he hadn’t. He was certain that he had never seen her before, and this unpleasant feeling was just an odd case of déjà vu that was nothing more to worry about. He shook his head from the confusing thoughts running through his mind and smiled friendly at her, “Killian,” he introduced himself, before walking off after Ruby who’d left out the front entrance in frustration. 

As if the new guest to Storybrooke wasn’t shocking enough, he felt an unexplainable instant connection and couldn’t pinpoint why exactly he felt he knew her and wondered if she felt the same. He glanced back at the door after he walked at out, as if expecting a complete stranger to follow him despite the late hour of the evening and her clear intent of getting a room to sleep for the night.  
~  
The confusion that ran through Killian wasn’t one-sided, however. Emma found herself nearly winded by the sight of him. He had a rugged edge to him, and that bloody accent. He couldn’t be more her type if he tried. So, when he suddenly stated her name, rolling better off his lips than it really had the right to, she gave an unimpressed look then turned back to the woman who’d greeted her. She knew better than to let guys like that close. They had a distinct trait that made girls want to run to them, but often just wanted a good fuck out of them before leaving them heartbroken once again. In which case the woman stood near him was interesting, but not at all surprising with his looks. 

She brushed off the brief interaction, frankly, being too tired to care about anyone trying to get to know her and not intending to stay in this disturbingly quiet town for longer than she had to. Emma did feel herself glancing back at the door after he had left, processing his name in full and dwelling on it for a moment before the woman, Granny she’d assumed, handed her the key to the room she’d be staying in, and welcomed her upstairs. 

This odd feeling she was left with made her unsure whether she wanted to get the hell out of town or run into this guy again, but all her defense mechanisms told her the best option would be to leave before he even got the chance to affect her. He walls were built higher than the sky at this point and she wasn't about to let a man who acted like he knew her be the one to break her down. She could not get anywhere near him without causing problems for everyone, so she decided she’d be better off grabbing a quick breakfast in the morning and being on her way. 

Little did she know the stranger thing about this town; no one left.


	2. II

When Emma woke up the next morning, it was with a heavy groan from the sunlight creeping through the shades on the window and tickling her face, prompting her eyes to open. She turned over at first, pulling her pillow over her head to try to enclose the darkness, but when that didn’t work, she huffed and sat up, taking a minute to realize where she was. Something about this town was off. Everyone-the three people she’d encountered-seemed so surprised to see a new person around which was odd enough given the local road the town was attached to. She didn’t question though. Everyone in this town probably just had close connections to each other so the new guest really stuck out to them. More of a reason for her to get out of there sooner. 

As she stood from the full-sized bed provided from the diner, which was much more comfortable than it looked, but still not ideal. It was a little flat and she could feel the stiffness and tension locked up in her back. She ignored it however, as she walked across the small room to the mid-sized, dark green duffle bag she’d brought with a few changes of clothes for any nights she’d have to stay in these unfamiliar towns or in her car on the side of some road. At least she’d have something clean to change into. 

Her outfits weren’t often very extravagant though. With her lack of incredible money and blatant disregard for the high society, she got by just fine with a pair of skinny jeans, a random T-shirt, and her famous red leather jacket collection. It was her shield, really, the jacket. It provided comfort and helped her feel strong through all the worst times of her life, so she stuck with it. As she quickly brushed her hair in the mirror and made sure she had everything; her phone and wallet in her back pockets, her car keys in her hand, and her duffle bag slung over her shoulder, she checked her phone once for nonexistent missing calls then walked out of her room and down the stairs to the makeshift lobby. The tendor, Granny, wasn’t around so she settled for just leaving the room key on the table where she could easily find it and it was no longer her problem. 

She headed out the same door she’d entered through and on her way, passed by a teenaged boy-12 or 13 perhaps, who was staring down at his own cell phone and not paying attention to where he was going. It wasn’t until the boy had walked into her that he looked up and frowned apologetically. 

“I’m so sorry,” he stated genuinely after recovering from the impact, having walked into her side and almost knocked his phone out of his hands, before shoving them both into his pocket as he offered Emma a warm smile. 

He was the first one who didn’t greet her excessively or seem to notice that she was an outlander. Besides the unwanted brief encounter, he still seemed pretty nice, so she just returned a pressed smile to him before walking on. The kid didn’t seem inherently damaging, but sometimes boys, especially around his age, reminded her of mistakes she’d made in his past that she now regretted but had no real way of solving them. 

So like anything else, she ignored it. She continued her brief trek to her yellow Volkswagen beetle that had stayed parked on the side of the street once she’d finally located the bed and breakfast. She unlocked the car door and tossed her bag carelessly into the backseat and sat in the drivers one. She had noticed on her way into town there was a diner, also entitled to Granny, that was probably sufficient so without pause, being far too hungry to debate, she started her car and made the quick journey to the building. She just wanted to get her food quick and get out of there, having no desire to stay and make friends.

That all seemed to change when she sprung out of the bug and walked along the path until she stepped inside, the bell on the door immediately signifying her presence and getting head turns from the patrons sitting for their own meals so she just turned toward the counter. She wished she hadn’t. She could have just driven a couple hours and gotten food at some shitty fast-food place to fill her up enough. Instead, she was once again faced with this man who seemed to be able to look right through her without even trying. They’d barely even spoken; she had no clue what it was about him that made her feel so off-put in the absolute best way, but whatever it was; it was not good. She needed to get this over with as quick as she could, or she would be doomed. He seemed to have a girlfriend anyway so there was no use in feeling anything for him, but his striking looks were hard to miss and something about his devilish smirk drew her in. 

She made it a point to sit on the farthest she could from him without being right next to someone else, since he’d clearly come in for a morning breakfast on his way to work, and to see his girlfriend who was apparently a waitress at the joint. She smiled nicely at the woman, Ruby as she’d heard the previous night, and ordered something simple that she could take to her car and eat on her way, even though it wouldn’t be the most ideal. She glanced over a few times to see the dark-haired, Irishman also taking quick looks at her but otherwise sitting over his mug filled with coffee that she’d noticed he’d enhanced with whatever liquid from a flask he’d removed from the inner pocket of his black, also leather jacket. 

*

Killian had not expected to see the woman from the Bed and Breakfast again. No one ever stayed around long enough to get to know besides the ones he’d known forever, but a newcomer was quite intriguing. They didn’t occur often, so it was a quite curious situation to have this attractive blonde suddenly around. And she was extremely attractive.   
It wasn’t something he had time to dwell on, though. He had spent the night with Ruby, like they did a couple nights of the weeks, so when she woke up late and in a rush to get to work it was the least he could do to get up as well and take her. Normally he would have liked a steamy shower with his incredibly sexy dark-haired girlfriend, but she was insistent, and it was too early to argue so he settled for the less enjoyable quick clothing change and teeth brush before they were on their way.

Once he’d gotten her to the diner he stayed for a few cups of coffee and a couple pancakes, needing the energy for work, even though the town was quite boring and his job as the Sherriff often wasn’t very entertaining. Not that he hoped for the guest to cause drama, he decided to just let it be until the mayor figured out and dealt with it herself. That was until she walked into the diner. He, like everyone else, turned to see her walk in and grinned a little noticing the clear unsettled vibe she radiated. So he decided to leave her be; observe from afar. He noticed the way she looked around and sat tensely in her stool as she ordered from Ruby, clearly in a rush, but it was disappointing that she’d be leaving so soon. That was until the woman, obviously distraught, mumbled something under her breath-a curse no doubt- as she moved her hands over her pockets and groaned in frustration.

She had….Forgotten? Her wallet. She didn’t seem like the type to be very forgetful, but as she muttered an embarrassed apology to the waitress behind the counter, of whom stood in confusion, Killian got up and walked over quick. He looked between Ruby and Emma briefly, then locked eyes with Emma as he charmingly stated, “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll cover it,” to Ruby of course, and quickly followed through with his words by pulling his wallet from his own pocket and handing Ruby a bill once he finally turned from the blonde to the brunette. 

Ruby was not as pleased with the heroic action as Killian was. She didn’t say anything, just took the paper and walked back to put it in the cash register. Killian was more than satisfied, on the other hand. He didn’t get the chance to say anything to Emma, as she had already grabbed the bag her food was placed in, and her coffee, and bolted out the door in what he assumed was embarrassment. But Killian felt it his duty to follow.

So, he trailed out the door a few seconds after her and looked around before locating her frustratedly opening her car door and placing the food inside, huffing as she then started searching for her wallet. “You know it’s illegal to drive without a license, right?” He commented half-heartedly as he walked over and leaned against the side of the yellow bug.   
This was just what she fucking needed. To be clueless in this unfamiliar town, without her wallet, and now him. It was bad enough that just his looks made her want to strip him right there, but she could already tell that he was an arrogant ass. So when he approached her car she rolled her eyes and turned toward him, practically shoving him out of her way. “Screw off…” she paused for a moment, trying to think of something to insult him, or at least be more formal, but all she new was his first name and she was not going to be letting that linger on her lips.

Before she could evade to the confines of her car though, he was quickly stopping her again by pulling on her arm. “Come on, Swan. Maybe you left it at the hotel,” he suggested, not letting the matter drop not really because he wanted to protect the town, just to have an excuse to talk to her.

Emma huffed and tore her arm from Killian’s grip as she leaned against her car and rubbed her face in confusion as she tried to backtrack her steps of the morning. She shook her head. “No, no I had it when I left, I know I did,” she replied agitated then stopped, staying in silence for a moment as she thought. Suddenly her eyes shot up as she looked at the sidewalk below Killian, realizing what was the most likely unfortunate. 

“That fucking kid,” she growled as she processed in her mind the exact moment where everything seemed reasonable. Of course. He’d purposely bumped into her and while she was recovering from the impact, he snatched it out of her pocket and covered it up with his sweater. Honestly, it was a similar tactic that she would of used, but it being turned against her was really just infuriating.

“What?” Killian laughed, confused by her sudden statement, and he rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around, noticing a few of the passers-by but none of them stood out much, save for the mayor who was walking some way down the block in their direction. 

“I ran into this kid on my way out. He..he seemed friendly enough but he was just fucking conning me. He took it, I’m sure,” she looked up at him, crossing her arms as if she’d expected him to read her mind to know what she’d meant. 

“Ah, Henry,” Killian nodded, chuckling slightly despite Emma’s clear lack of amusement. He raised an eyebrow and set his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “He’s the mayor’s kid. Does things like that for the fun, and attention. A little bastard no doubt but you’ll get all your stuff returned safe.” 

Emma obviously was not very relieved by the statement. She didn’t have time to say anything, though, as Killian had already turned and waved the strange woman across the street to them, who seemed less than pleased to see the pair together. “Madam Mayor! Henry’s in school today, isn’t he?” He asked respectfully despite knowing the answer. 

Regina could practically feel her heart stop when she noticed her. Emma Swan. How the hell had she managed to worm her way back into Regina’s life? She purposely made the curse to keep them apart, but that seemed like a lost cause now. As she stepped across the street her eyebrow raised at Killian’s question. “I’d expect you’d know by now the hours children are in school, Sherriff Jones,” she stated coldly as she looked at Emma.

Killian narrowed his eyes slightly watching the looks between the two. It felt like there was some silent feud between them that he had no idea about, so he cleared his throat to try to break it up and divert the attention, and looked back at Emma, “Right, well then we’ll have to wait until he’s out and we’ll go retrieve it.” He promised Emma with a small smile.   
Still, it wasn’t comforting. This presence, the Mayor, whatever her name was, she just radiated bad energy. Something in Emma felt the same passionate rage, but for what reason? She’d never met this woman in her life, so she thought, so how was she already an energy. Her eyes widened and she looked back at Killian. “What?! I’m just trying to get out of here! I don’t want to sit around at the expense of some kid’s schoolwork,” she complained, earning a new dissatisfied look from the boy’s mother. 

Killian sighed a little and shook his head, trying to be as quick as possible to deflect the snarky response he could sense coming from the other woman next to them, but Regina still threw in a quick “he’s not just some kid,” not that Emma really paid it much mind. But Regina was in a rush, at least she said, so she quickly fled though it was mainly to return to her office and figure this mess out. 

The Irishman stayed, though. As much as Emma wished he would not have. This could have been easy to walk away from had it not been for his piercing blue eyes and the stupid kid who’d decided to steal from her of all people. He was quick enough to figure something out; obviously being the ‘savior’ type, even though Emma Swan did not need saving. He took it upon himself to offer her a tour around the town, to which she reluctantly for lack of better option, though she really just wanted to get out of her.

It was curious, though. The energy between Regina and Emma. Perhaps she felt threatened by the newcomer, and it slightly amused Emma to already pose such a threat though there really was no reason why. And this man. Killian Jones as she now knew. He was stunning in all the best ways and she easily found herself daydreaming about his.. less formal side. Of course, he played a gentleman for the most part, but she could tell there was something more to him and he didn’t seem vanilla at all, so perhaps part of her wanted to stay. She was an outsider, obviously, but she always had been so it really would be no different. Nothing permanent either, but something about this town leaved much more to be discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, Chapter two! So, it's much longer thankfully, and I still have MANY plans for this so stay tuned. Also let me know what you think & give your suggestions in the comments! Cheers :)   
> Also, a couple of you pointed out that I miss-tagged this as a SwanQueen fic originally, so I'm SOOO sorry for that! But I fixed it..I think

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda new to this so bear with me. My mind has also been soooo crapped out lately so I'm hoping this isn't a complete flop LOL. Leave comments of your thoughts...or don't! :) First chapter's REALLY short, and more boring than I'd expected, but I have some plans for this (and when I get excited enough I can type for actual hours)- if I ever get around to writing the next chapters because I'm the slowest. Anyway. Hope this wasn't a total waste of time for anyone. Cheers!
> 
> Also if there's typos...Sorry ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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